Hi, I'm Jacob

Software Engineer

I very much like building things using software. I started as a contracter helping small, local businesses create websites in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia, while studying Econ and CS at UVA (go hoos!). Since then I have gone from a technical consultant, to junior software engineer, and eventually to principal software engineer at AddThis where I work now. Everyday writing code is a good day.

Teacher

The only thing that truly rivals my excitment for building and learning is my passion for teaching. Through General Assembly in D.C. I taught several classes both in front-end development and specializing in JavaScript. While exhausting, these experiences were some of the most rewarding of my career.

Author

I have been using React and related technologies for several years and was very excited when React Native hit the scene. I dived in immediately. Early in 2017, the culmination of over a year of learning was published in the book Mastering React Native.

Entrepreneur

In February of 2016, I co-founded Audicy. The application that we developed for iOS (using React Native, btw) made it possible for anyone to create and share high quality audio content. Working only nights and weekends–and learning along the way–it took 10 months to go from idea to App Store.

Musician

When I was younger, I was in a number of local rock bands. We wrote, recorded, and performed music from middle-school until college. These were some of the most formitive and meaningful experiences of my life. In college, I also was a proud member of the Virginia Glee Club–serving as president in my third year–and continue to serve on the alumni board to this day.

Fits and Starts

Much like the many side projects I work on, for every blog post I write there are many ideas that never make it to digital ink. Here I will post the few that–intermittently–do as well as pictures and videos of things I like.